Georgia’s former prime minister and opposition leader Georgia Gakharia is being treated in hospital after being attacked in a hotel, reportedly by members of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Gakharia is said to have had his nose broken in the incident in Batumi on the Black Sea coast. His party said it was “politically motivated” and aimed at intimidating the opposition.

The South Caucasus country has been rocked by political unrest in the months since Georgia held disputed elections in late October, with opposition figures and protesters subject to repeated attacks.

Protests have taken place every night since Georgian Dream leaders announced a freeze on EU accession talks a month later.

Hundreds of businesses took part in a three-hour strike on Wednesday, the 49th consecutive day of protests.

Video of the incident, which took place late Tuesday night in the lobby of the Sheraton Batumi hotel, is unclear, but Gakharia can be seen being forced to the ground by a group of men. Photos showed blood on his shirt later.

Giorgia Gakharia posted on social media Wednesday morning that “health-wise I’m doing great,” but the doctor treating him said he suffered a broken nose and a concussion.

European Commission spokesperson Anita Hipper said it was “shocking that Georgian Dream politicians were reportedly involved in brutal attacks.” No democracy has room for violence or impunity.

However, Georgian Dream activists accused Gakharia of starting the conflict himself. MP Levan Machavariani told reporters that everything was clear from the footage, while Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said the opposition’s agenda was based on lies and cheat.

A lawmaker from the Georgian Dream party and other members of the party were linked to the attack, which came after Zviad Koridze, a journalist and regional director of anti-corruption group Transparency International, was also attacked soon.

Korize’s visit to Batumi is to cover the trial of prominent media figure Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder of the independent online media Netgazeti and Batumelebi.

She was ordered to pretrial detention in the Black Sea coastal city two days after she was arrested on Tuesday following a heated argument with a police officer she was accused of slapping. A photographer was also arrested.

British Ambassador to Georgia Gareth Ward said developments in the political crisis in recent days were “extremely worrying”. “It is unacceptable that violence against opposition politicians and the arbitrary detention of journalists and protesters has occurred again,” he said.

Gakharia is not the first opposition leader to face violence in recent weeks. Alliance for Change leader Nika Gvaramia was knocked unconscious while being detained in the capital, Tbilisi, last month.

Dozens of Georgian journalists and protesters were also attacked and injured by pro-government thugs during nightly protests.

The Georgian Dream party has been accused by the European Union and the United States of democratic backsliding, with opposition groups accusing the party and its billionaire founder Byzina Ivanishvili of pursuing Russian interests while the vast majority of Georgians want to join the EU.

Giorgi Gakharia was a leading member of Georgian Dream until 2021, when he served as Interior Minister and then Prime Minister before forming his own Georgian Opposition Party.

Georgian Ombudsman Levan Iseliani condemned the attacks on Gakharia and Zviad Kolidze in a statement. He called for an immediate response “so as not to incite attacks on politicians and journalists”.

Gakharia’s party was one of four opposition groups to gain seats in October elections, but they have refused to take office, accusing the ruling party of vote-rigging.

The European Parliament called for new elections, saying they were neither free nor fair, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Callas accused the government of suppressing the opposition.